Mabton City Hall to be closed on Fridays

MABTON - Effective Aug. 1, Mabton City Hall will be closed on Fridays.

The city staff will begin working 10 hours days Monday, Aug. 1, with city hall open Monday through Thursday, said Mabton City Administrator Ildia Jackson.

She said the Mabton City Council recently approved the change in part to help improve customer services and to give the staff more time to do its daily work.

For the past several years, Mabton City Hall has opened daily at 10 a.m. but was closed on Wednesdays.

Now, Mabton City Hall will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the doors open to the public from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. The office will be closed for lunch from noon to 1 p.m., Jackson said.

"By starting at 7 a.m., we can do the other city business as needed and still open early," Jackson said.

She said the suggestion to change city hall hours came from the staff. Staff has received a lot of grumbling from residents about the 10 a.m. opening, Jackson said.

"Now that we see that it is working in other communities, such as Sunnyside, our staff is more receptive to giving the new work week a try," Jackson said.

She said the Mabton Public Works Department will stagger its work schedule to make sure there is a crew member on duty on Fridays, in case of a problem. The department's Friday schedule will also allow the department to do daily tests and maintenance at the wastewater plant, as required, Jackson explained.

"We plan to review the new work schedule at the end of the year to make sure there are no unforeseen problems," she added.